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Challenge Monday Mush Mania | Discussion & Index

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Monday_Mush_Mania, Jul 9, 2018.

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  1. Monday_Mush_Mania

    Monday_Mush_Mania Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 9, 2007
    It's time for another Mushy Monday!

    Actually, I'm a week late posting the new Spoonful of Mush prompts, and for that I apologize. RL was hectic last week!

    This week's prompts are from @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
    1. Attentive
    2. Baffled
    3. Cautious
    4. Hopeful
    5. Curious
    Since we've only had one taker on this challenge, I'd thought I'd put it up for discussion: is the drabble challenge something that we want to continue? Is there something that could be done to improve it (are the prompts too sappy, too hard, not interesting, etc.). Or has it been more a matter of real life/uncooperative muses getting in the way?

    This challenge has been kind of an experiment, and I'd appreciate your thoughts on it. I'm not offended if it isn't working for people, though I'm happy to continue to post prompts if people think that they'd like to do them in the future.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2018
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  2. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Kessel Run Champion star 8 VIP - Game Winner

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Is the drabble challenge something that we want to continue?
    Yes, definitely. Even if authors don't take them up now, they may use them at some future point when the muse cooperates or when they're stuck on another project and want to write something to feel unstuck ;) or when they want to write a pick-me-upper. @};-

    ~~

    Is there something that could be done to improve it (are the prompts too sappy, too hard, not interesting, etc.)?
    I love them! They're flexible and can be used in a variety of contexts/fandoms. And IMO nothing is ever too sappy! [face_mischief]

    I've been holdingoff not because I'm not interested but because I wasn't sure which side I was gonna put them in, personally: SW or NSWFF. [face_laugh] But after reading the AMAZING update from SiouxFan today, I'm feeling SW big time. [face_dancing]
    (Which isn't to say I may not take a smorgasborg and do NSWFF). [face_thinking]

    [:D]
     
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  3. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    I know for me personally, drabbles in general are just my last "go to" when I want to write but my muse is being a butt and/or I have nothing else to work on. And my muse has been quite cooperative (well, as cooperative as the muse can be) as of late, so as tempting as many of these drabbles are, I don't want to distract my muse when it's behaving, plus it has enough to work on between the main MMM challenge and other challenges around these days.

    And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is most people's positions on drabbles? Fun, but there are only so many hours in a week for fanfic, so other things tend to take up the muse's attention more. That's not to say people (me included) won't sit down one day in the future and do a bunch. But I also understand from a host POV that lack of participation is kinda discouraging. What I would do is make a index in one of the OPs with all the drabbles there, then add (and post) like 10 new ones every month.
     
  4. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    For me, drabble HAVING to be 100 words really kinda throws me off. For the Drabble Challenge, that's a part of the challenge to force yourself to 100 words, but for this I don't know that it needs to be? Sometimes you need 10 extra words to finish your thought, and it's nice to have a bit of flexibility. I think that would make it easier for people to participate, if it was 'around 100 words'. At least it would for me.
     
  5. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Kessel Run Champion star 8 VIP - Game Winner

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    Aug 31, 2004
    That's a very valid point. Maybe make it a drabble/ficlet challenge? I like to think of a ficlet as something bigger than a drabble but maybe normal vignette length, over 1,000 or so words, but it could also be around 300 words for instance.
     
  6. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    I absolutely adore writing ficlets and drabbles, personally, and appreciate this aspect of the challenge! Bri made a good point about drabbles being a last go to for most - that seems to be an accurate summation. That said, I know I'm somewhat of an oddity where I'll have crazy work schedules for days where I can't even open my laptop to write, and then a stretch of days off. During the busier days of the month, drabbles are usually all I can chip away at. Odds are I'll always tackle a set if it's put before me. :p I love their ability to clense the muse's pallet, so to speak, and exorcise full length ideas I wouldn't be able to write otherwise. As for this particular challenge, I think the prompts have been great, and would love to see them continue. The variety has been spot on and inspiring. Even if it's off to a slow start you never know when inspiration will strike and then there'll be a nice selection of prompts to choose from! :)

    Oh! That's an idea! :D

    Between this and what Nyota added, I certainly wouldn't protest the word restriction being loosened - I could certainly see more additions if that was the case. More of a mushy mouthful than a spoonful, perhaps? ;) [face_thinking]

    Either way, thanks for all of the time and effort you are putting into running this thread. We all appreciate it. [face_love][:D]
     
  7. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Okay, all my muse wants to do, is partner my female British agent, with a woman police officer, as the latter's police partner is out of action.

    Both have an older female supervisor, who are already friends.

    How would I mush- (the term does not sit well with me, but too intrigued by the concept to ignore) -ify this?
     
  8. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Kessel Run Champion star 8 VIP - Game Winner

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    Aug 31, 2004
    [face_laugh] [face_mischief] The process of forging a partnership/friendship that is tight and unbreakably loyal and filled with snarky, if necessary, affection, respect, and trust is a beautifully warm/fuzzy thing to read.
     
  9. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    So this is not going to the work of a moment; this would be a long term project.
     
  10. Tarsier

    Tarsier Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2005
    @Sith-I-5 I think as long as they are friendly/respectful from the start it could be mushy in the short term. If they resent being partnered and are constantly yelling and throwing things at each other, that would be hard to make mushy very quickly.

    Some ideas on how to mushify the situation: you could have them think about why they each like the other as a partner, you could bring up memories of other partners and how working with the new partner compares, they could compare notes on their supervisors, they could bond over the difficult parts of the job and how they cope.
     
  11. ThisIsMe1138

    ThisIsMe1138 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2018
    This would make it so much easier for me. I agree, sometimes, especially in writing mush, the feeling gets thrown off if you have to take certain words out, or end a scene where it should have been a few words longer. I find it hard to convey the "mush" in only 100 words. And while it's definitely something I want to work on, I would get to posting them much faster if it wasn't exactly 100 words ;)
     
  12. Monday_Mush_Mania

    Monday_Mush_Mania Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Hello, and happy Monday!

    We have two weeks left until our challenge due date. As a reminder, our challenge theme is:
    Write a story in which a character (or characters) plans something special for another character (or characters).

    How’s the mushy writing going? Any thoughts about the challenges/problems/good points of writing mush that you’ve experienced?

    I also wanted to check in on the discussion about the Spoonfuls of Mush drabble challenge.@mavjade suggested:
    and we had several people agree, so I’m amending the rules accordingly. I’ll leave it up to you how long “around 100 words” is. :) I’ve added an index of the sets in the second post of this thread.

    Hope everyone’s muses will be mushy over the next two weeks! [face_love]
     
  13. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Kessel Run Champion star 8 VIP - Game Winner

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    Aug 31, 2004
  14. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Mines done! I've mostly just used the challenge prompt as more of a "launching point" into the mush, but I'm very happy with the result, I got some romantic mush as well as some family mush, young child/parent mush, and adult child/parent mush.

    One of the good points about mush I've realized in writing this story is that your don't really need much of a plot - I mean, if you have one, great, but if your story's purpose is just to give the reader warm, mushy feelings, then I don't think it really matters if you have no sort of conflict or obstacles to overcome. My plot can be boiled down to "three people plan a get-away for Father's day" and there's no substance beyond that. I love writing angsty mush where the characters have an argument and find a resolution and make up, or someone gets hurt and their love deepens though comfort, but I also just like writing mindless mush. It all depends on what the muse wants.
     
  15. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    I've finished mine. I should read it and edit and maybe ask someone to check it for me. I'm happy with it, but for the first piece I've finished in years I'm not sure if it's any good.
     
  16. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    I realize I never weighed in on the discussion questions about the drabble prompts and word count—but yes, for this kind of thread, I am all for keeping things approximate and unrestrictive, and I like the proposed change to "around 100."

    So glad to see these being tackled, and it looks like we'll have a nice mush crop on our upcoming Mush Monday! If it's OK to submit a previously written but not-yet-posted story for this—a "drawerfic," if you will—I may have something, too. :D
     
  17. Monday_Mush_Mania

    Monday_Mush_Mania Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 9, 2007
    I don't have a problem with it.

    Glad to see so many people have contributions!
     
  18. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
  19. ThisIsMe1138

    ThisIsMe1138 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2018
    Ha, guess what, I've finally decided two weeks before the deadline what my challenge fic's gonna be about... I'd better get working ;)
     
  20. Monday_Mush_Mania

    Monday_Mush_Mania Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Happy Mushy Monday!

    We're just one week away from our first challenge deadline; hope everyone's stories are coming along well! In the meantime, we now have three entries for the Spoonfuls of Mush drabble challenge:
    The Look of Love, by @Mira_Jade
    Sweet Nothings by @Raissa Baiard
    Montage of Melty Moments by @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    I invite everyone to check them out for some warm and mushy goodness!

    It's also time for our next set of Spoonful prompts:
    1. Watch
    2. Listen
    3. Learn
    4. Feel
    5. Believe
    Looking forward to seeing our first batch of stories next week!
     
  21. ThisIsMe1138

    ThisIsMe1138 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2018
    Okay, can someone tell me when the time comes what I'm supposed to do with my challenge fic? (I gotta say, this might've been the most fun I've ever had writing, thanks a lot for this! :D)
     
  22. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Kessel Run Champion star 8 VIP - Game Winner

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    @ThisIsMe1138 -- [face_dancing] SQUEE already! [face_love] On Monday, September 17, you post your fic for the challenge about surprising someone, and then provide the link to your story in this thread. If it's for the Spoonfuls of Mush challenge, you don't have to wait until the 17th, you can start that anytime.
     
  23. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    I hope it's okay to go ahead and post, it's Monday where I live... technically. And if I didn't do it now, I might not have had much time to do it later. Also, my brain apparently forgot the prompt, or misinterpreted it, or something. I think it still fits, but the prompt is more subtle in the story.

    It's a West Wing story (shocking!) but it takes place more than 20 years before the show, so no knowledge is required and most of the characters are OCs (not the Mav-and Bri West Wing OCs).

    Esher
     
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  24. Monday_Mush_Mania

    Monday_Mush_Mania Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Good morning and happy Monday!

    Today’s the day to post your entries for our first MMM challenge! Please post a link to your story here and add Monday Mush Mania Challenge (or MMM Challenge, to save space ;) ) to the title, if possible. I’m excited to see we already have one entry (thanks, @mavjade !) and can’t wait to see more.

    I’m working on a new challenge to be posted next week and wanted to ask everyone how you felt about the writing period on this one. Was 10 weeks too long? Or about right?

    As always, if you have ideas or discussion questions, let me know.
     
  25. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999